Very few people would dispute the fact that Lawrence Tribe, the renowned scholar of constitutional law and professor emeritus at Harvard School of Law, is the most esteemed law professor in the world. Tribe has never been shy about speaking out on the unconstitutionality of Trump’s actions, but now Tribe is offering advice on how Garland should proceed with possible criminal charges.
More than at any time to date, yesterday’s hearings featured a company that looked identical to the modus operandi of an organized crime family, the overwhelming pressure, threats, endangerment, illegal conspiracies and secrecy, all run from the top down, just like a mob operation. It is surely not accidental. Trump learned on the knees of notorious mob lawyer Roy Cohn. Now Tribe is saying to prosecute Trump as an organized crime operation.
Former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzi noted the following:
“This is all looking more and more like some sort of criminal enterprise,” says @FrankFigliuzzi1 after watching the D6 hearing. “Trump in the lead, almost a capo of an organized crime family”
— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) June 21, 2022
And Professor Tribe, who taught constitutional law to Merrick Garland (as well as Obama, Chief Justice Roberts and Adam Schiff), underscored the imperative:
Today’s hearing makes it clearer than ever how much Trump and his cronies have already damaged democracy on the ground, driving honest election workers into hiding and creating a vacuum that the fascists are filling. Only a clean sweep can hold back this tide.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 21, 2022
And then the hammer:
Almost? This calls for RICO fees. https://t.co/g2H0WH3tAH
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 21, 2022
Tribe, still a teacher, even went out of his way to come up with some of the co-conspirators who should be swept up in this organized crime operation:
The RNC President is a co-conspirator with Trump, Eastman, Giuliani, Ellis, Chesebro and several others 👇🏼 https://t.co/RNOkhqmtOc
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 21, 2022
But Merrick Garland doesn’t have the luxury of chasing the whole case in a vacuum and must weigh whatever he might accuse against the likelihood of it sticking and what enough of the country finds acceptable. Garland is in a unique position where certain charges can cause more damage to the country than no charges.
To be sure, Garland has to accuse Trump of something, which is clearer than ever. But RICO is a nebulous concept at the best of times. Garland probably envisions a much cleaner, more provable crime, something that states for the whole story that the rule of law will prevail and even a president can be indicted. But it is even more likely than not that Garland will accuse the United States of simple fraud with the fake voters, the obstruction of Congress, the tampering of witnesses, the tampering of elections (Georgia) and the intriguing affair of the records top secrets in Florida, perhaps the clearest case of all and, depending on the seriousness of what Trump took and why he took them, perhaps the most terribly treacherous.
Jason Miciak believes that a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, columnist, author and lawyer. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teenage and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He is now enjoying life as a single father to a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves making his flowerpots, cooking, while studying scientific philosophy, religion and the non-mathematical principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or concerns.
